Practice And Tournament Volumes Of Young Golfers In Regional And National Squads

Practice plays a part in determining skill development, expertise (Ericsson & Pool, 2016; Baker et al., 2003), levels of creativity (Memmert et al., 2010) psychological preparation, increases in novice golfers’ gray matter (Bezzola et al., 2011), and decision making (Baker et al., 2003). Currently there is little empirical research demonstrating the amount of practice golfers conduct on a session to session, weekly, monthly, seasonal or annual basis and the impact this can have on their handicap. Previous research has suggested that deliberate practice can explain some of the variance in performance levels (Macnamara et al., 2016). However, with a paucity of golf specific research in this area, it is important to establish the volumes being undertaken and the impact of those volumes on the golfer’s ability. This initial study aimed to establish the practice and tournament volumes of young golfers involved in a national governing body’s development programme and investigate how practice volumes influence handicap

E-book usage amongst academic librarians in South Africa

The purpose of this study completed in 2010 was to investigate the use of e-books amongst academic librarians; in particular which e-books are available to academic librarians, why they choose this format, what impact e-books have on librarians’ professional practice and what the usage patterns of e-books are amongst academic librarians. A web-based questionnaire was distributed on the LIASA mailing list. The results reflect a more gradual trend towards e-book adoption. There is still a preference for print or a “bit of both” – print and electronic. This is because of the high costs of e-books using the subscription model as the predominant e-book acquisition model and the lack of sufficient e-books in all subject fields. E-books are used for “browsing for information” and are selected for functionalities such as having the ability to search the document, anytime access and automatic citation. Major problems identified with e-books are: the cost of the equipment to read e-book formats; the cost of the e-books, especially if the subscription purchasing model is used; the lack of reliability of the Internet; and the lack of training in the use of e-books.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Sports science for golf: A survey of high-skilled golfers’ “perceptions” and “practices”

Despite a growing body of evidence on the positive impact of sports science for golf, there is still a paucity of research investigating the “perceptions” and “practices” of high-skilled golfers. Professional Golfers’ Association Assistant Professionals (future-qualified coaches; n = 430) were surveyed on their “perceptions” and “practices” of “sports science”, “warm-ups”, “cool-downs” and “strength and conditioning” for golf. Participants perceived the discipline of sports science as beneficial to golfers but lacked implementation in coaching settings. Warm-up protocols were also perceived to be beneficial to all aspects of golf performance; however, the duration of tournament-based (37.84 ± 20.05 min), warm-ups was significantly greater (p < 0.001) than practice rounds (26.26 ± 18.63 min) and range sessions (13.00 ± 13.38 min). Education continues to be required to raise the understanding of warm-ups for golf. There were mixed perceptions regarding the benefits of a cool-down, with 62.1% of the high-skilled golfers omitting a cool-down following tournament play and practice. Strength and conditioning was perceived as beneficial, with 78.51% engaging in some form of training throughout the year. Results confirm, however, that certain misconceptions around surveyed sports science practices still exist and it is imperative that education disseminates research findings and validated applied practices to coaches and golfers alike

Warm-Up Habits of Highly-Skilled Golfers Prior to Practice and Tournament Conditions

Biomechanics and Physiology Purpose Extensive research has highlighted that the incorporation of a warm-up can significantly improve clubhead speed (Moran et al., 2009; Fradkin et al., 2004), ball speed (Moran et al., 2009), swing path (Moran et al., 2009), and centeredness of strike (Tilley & Macfarlane, 2012; Moran et al., 2009). Research conducted by Fradkin et al., (2003) surveyed 1040 amateur golfers based on their attitudes towards pre-performance preparation, with 70% of the golfers indicating they never or seldom warm-up. With only 5.8% of their sample holding a handicap between 0-10, it indicates that the sample predominantly consisted of lower-skilled golfers. Whilst this provides some indication as to the pre-performance preparation habits of golfers, there is no evidence to date that has sought to establish the warm-up habits of highly-skilled golfers across both practice and tournament conditions. Using an observational study, Bridge et al., (2008) evidenced that Ladies European Tour golfers (n=25) performed a mixture of static and dynamic stretches which ranged from 27-29 seconds over consecutive tournament days. Whilst this provides evidence of the 'observed' warm-up practices of elite golfers prior to tournament rounds (TR), there is a paucity of evidence surrounding warm-up habits prior to driving range practice sessions (RS) and practice rounds (PR). The aim of this current study was to analyse the warm-up habits of highly-skilled golfers prior to 3 practice / tournament conditions ([RS], [PR] and [TR])

South African gender-based violence researchers’ awareness and usage of bibliometrics and altmetrics in the context of open access scholarly publishing

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThe traditional model of scholarly communication uses journals, databases, and conferences. With the onset of the digital age, there has been a change in the system of scholarly communication, creating new publishing models, such as open access and institutional repositories, which have emerged as important, scholarly communication models. The research questions addressed in this study investigated the value of using altmetrics, as opposed to traditional metrics for measuring the impact of publications by researchers into gender-based violence (GBV) within South Africa

Electronic book usage amongst academic librarians in South Africa

Magister Bibliothecologiae - MBiblAmongst university libraries e-books are gaining wider interest since the introduction of portable electronic reading devices and software-based readers. With the growing electronic environment within universities, a need for competent and knowledgeable librarians has come to the forefront of information seeking and use. The research question addressed in this study is to what extent are e-books being used among academic librarians in their work environment? The purpose of this study was to investigate the usage of e-books amongst academic librarians; in particular which e-books are available to academic librarians, why they choose this format, what impact e-books have on librarians’ professional practice and what the usage patterns of ebooks are amongst academic librarians. The methodology used to collect the data is survey research. An electronic questionnaire was distributed on the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) mailing list. The population sample for this study was the subject and reference librarians at South African university libraries who all subscribe to the LIASA mailing list. A user study is the theory that frames this research. The purpose of the user study was to obtain an overview of users’ habits, preferences, and conventions when interacting with in this case, ebooks in a work environment. The majority of user studies concerns clients of the library such as students or academics and how they search for information or what they want from a library service. This particular study is different. The academic librarians are the users in this instance and their use of e-books in their professional work the focus of the study. The results revealed that academic librarians (48% of respondents) would often select the e-book version before print materials if available within their institutions. The results reflect more a gradual trend towards e-book uptake. There is still a preference for print or a “bit of both” – print and electronic. This is because of the high costs of e-books using the subscription model as the predominant e-book acquisition model and the lack of sufficient e-books in all subject fields. Ebooks are used for “browsing for information” and are selected for functionalities such as having the ability to search the document, anytime access and automatic citation. Major problems identified with e-books are (1) the cost of the equipment to read e-book formats, (2) the cost of the e-books especially if the subscription purchasing model is used, (3) the reliability of the internet and (4) the lack of training in how to use e-books. The study concludes by making recommendations for further research

Spectroscopic studies of near stable cadmium and indium nuclei

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

An investigation into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon golfers’ strength and conditioning and golf practice

As the spread of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 increased, governments across the world introduced various restrictions to reduce infections. Stay-at-home orders and lockdowns of golf courses (for 5.08 ± 2.79 months) and strength and conditioning facilities (for 6.78 ± 3.80 months) meant that golfers had to quickly adapt their practice and training. This mixed-methods study surveyed amateur and professional golfers (n = 107), to examine the applied impact of the pandemic on their strength and conditioning, golf practice, tournament engagement, levels of stress and motivation and the impact upon diet and sleep. Results indicate reduced practice frequency and duration across various aspects of golf, as well as reduced tournament engagement. The most commonly cited limiting factors for tournament engagement were a lack of practice time (28.8%) and travel restrictions (52.5%). In general, golfers were motivated to train, with session frequency remaining consistent with pre-pandemic levels. However, golfers suffered from significantly higher levels of stress (p p = .015) and perceptions of less physical gains compared to previous years. While online support has been accessed by 53.8% of golfers, the cited lack of facilities/equipment by 71.9% raises concerns over detraining and injury risks on return to sport. Coaches are urged to monitor athlete self-report measures to manage and optimise interventions, especially in similar situations where maintaining progressive overload is challenging. Strength and conditioning and golf coaches can use this study to review their applied practices, consider benefits/limitations to online coaching and to modify future interventions

Acute effects of different warm-up protocols on highly skilled golfers’ drive performance

Previous research has highlighted the positive effect that different warm-up protocols have on golf performance (e.g. Sorbie et al., 2016; Tilley & MacFarlane, 2012) with the design of warm-ups and programmes targeting and improving golf performance through the activation and development of specific muscle groups. This study aimed to examine the acute effects of two warm-up protocols on golf drive performance in comparison to a control condition. Using a randomised counter-balanced design over three testing sessions, twenty-three highly skilled golfers completed the control, dynamic and resistance-band warm-up conditions. Following each condition, a GC2 launch monitor was used to record ball velocity and other launch parameters of ten shots hit with the participants own driver. A repeated-measures ANOVA found significant increases in ball velocity (ηp² = .217) between the control and both the dynamic and resistance-band warm-up conditions but no difference between these latter two, and a reduction in launch angle between control and dynamic conditions. The use of either a dynamic stretching or resistance-band warm-up can have acute benefits on ball velocity but golfers should liaise with a PGA Professional golf coach to effectively integrate this into their golf driving performance

What drives political leaders to improve urban sanitation?

This report analyses the political challenge of improving access to sanitation in rapidly growing and developing secondary cities. We look at examples throughout history and across the world, and argue that while sanitation problems may appear to be technical in nature, without political incentives to solve them, progress cannot be made. Drawing on lessons from historical progress, we formulate a framework for understanding how improvements in urban sanitation take place. We then apply these principles to current sanitation challenges in two secondary Tanzanian cities, Mwanza and Arusha, to assess what could drive improvements there, and potentially elsewhere